, abbreviated typically as or , is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. In 2014, the Japanese

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(MEXT) designated Soka University as one of Japan's Top Global Universities. The university has 8 faculties with a total of around 8,000 students, 400 of whom are international students.

History

Soka University opened to undergraduate students on April 2, 1971, with its graduate school opening in April 1975. Since the school's founding, more than 50,000 students have graduated from Soka University.

Soka University of America Soka University of America (SUA) is a private liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo, California. Originally founded in 1987, it was established on its current campus in 2001 by Daisaku Ikeda, the founder of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist mo ...

is a related school founded in 2001, located in

Aliso Viejo, California Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 47,823 as of the 2010 census, up from 40,166 as of the 2000 census. It became Orange County's 34th city on ...

, which offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees.

Educational philosophy

Soka University's educational philosophy was established by

Tsunesaburō Makiguchi Tsunesaburō Makiguchi (牧口常三郎, ''Makiguchi Tsunesaburō''; 23 July 1871 (lunar calendar date 6 June) – 18 November 1944) was a Japanese educator who founded and became the first president of the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (Value-Creating ...

, the first president of the

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren as taught by its first three presidents Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda. It is the largest of the Japanese ...

(then called the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, or Value-creating Education Society), who had worked as the principal of an elementary school in Japan. Makiguchi published the book "The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy" based on his belief that the purpose of education is the students' happiness, and emphasized humanistic education. This educational philosophy was shared by his successor,

Jōsei Toda was a teacher, peace activist and second president of Soka Gakkai from 1951 to 1958. Imprisoned for two years during World War II under violating the Peace Preservation Law and the charge of lèse-majesté from against the war, he emerged from ...

, who had served as a primary school teacher. Toda's successor,

Daisaku Ikeda is a Japanese Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, the largest of Japan's new religious movements. Ikeda is the founding pres ...

, describes his goal as carrying out the dreams of Makiguchi and Toda. "Soka" is a Japanese term meaning "value creation". In 1971, when Daisaku Ikeda founded Soka University, the school established the following founding principles: * Be the highest seat of learning for humanistic education. * Be the cradle of a new culture. * Be a fortress for the peace of humankind. Since 2010, the university has also adopted the official motto .

Organization

Faculties

* Faculty of

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

** Department of Economics * Faculty of

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

** Department of Business Administration * Faculty of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

** Department of Law * Faculty of

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

** Department of Nursing * Faculty of

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

** Department of Information System Engineering ** Department of Science and Engineering for Sustainable Innovation * Faculty of International

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

**Department of International

* Faculty of

Letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

** Department of Humanities * Faculty of

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

** Department of Education ** Department of Primary Education

Graduate schools

* Law * Teacher Education * Law and Letters * Engineering

Honors Program

* Global Citizenship Program (GCP) * School for Excellence in Educational Development (SEED) * Language Education

Research institutes

* Institute of Oriental Philosophy

Honorary doctorates

As of 2015, Soka University had awarded 365 honorary doctorates and honorary professorships, primarily to international figures in academia and culture. In April 1993,

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

traveled to Tokyo together with his wife Raisa to receive an honorary doctorate from Soka University in recognition of his efforts for world peace. A cherry tree was planted at the university in their honor during their visit.

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

visited Soka University in 1994 to deliver a lecture, and was bestowed an honorary doctorate at that time for her contributions to civil rights. When

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

visited Soka University in 1995, he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his lifelong work to promote human rights. In 1996, the university awarded an honorary doctorate to

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

in recognition of his efforts to establish exemplary health care and education systems for his nation's people. In 2008, an honorary doctorate was awarded to a professor at Moscow State University, Mihail Sokolov, a medical robotics scientist.

Soka Women's College

Soka University shares its campus in Hachiōji, Tokyo, with , an affiliated private

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

that was founded on April 2, 1985.

References

External links

Soka University of Japan
(English portal)
Sōka Women's College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soka University (Japan) Sōka University Super Global Universities Private universities and colleges in Japan Buddhist universities and colleges in Japan Japanese junior colleges Educational institutions established in 1971 1971 establishments in Japan Soka Gakkai